Albus Potter: following in footsteps
by Catnip394
Summary: This is a next-generation Harry Potter FanFiction; basically, a new Harry Potter book, taking up the story after J.K.Rowling left it at the station. I really hope I can do it justice 3
1. Chapter 1

Albus Severus Potter tentatively smiled at Rose. Her answering grin was wide.  
"Do you want to... Um..." he made an awkward gesture towards the nearest compartment. She nodded.  
"Sure."  
They entered the compartment, sitting down heavily.  
"I think I'm going to miss home." blurted out Albus, self-conciously. Rose gave a sympathetic nod.  
"Me too," she admitted, "But I can't wait to get there."  
"Yeah... But.." he hesitated, "Do you think it'll make a difference that I'm not pure-blood?" Rose laughed.  
"You're Harry Potter's son. I don't think your blood can get purer than that." She told him, gently. He grinned, shyly.  
"I guess."  
Just then, the carriage door opened. A blonde girl walked in, accompanied by a tall boy.  
"Hi, Layla," said Albus, recognising Neville and Luna's daughter. She smiled dreamily, and gestured towards the boy.  
"This is Cheng," she told them, "He's half chinese."  
"We can see that," replied Rose, dryly, "Nice to meet you, Cheng."  
"Nice to meet you too," said Cheng, with an easy grin. He was tall and dark-haired, carelessly handsome with his hands in his pockets and his tie askew. Albus realised that both Layla and Cheng had already changed into their robes.  
The foursome sat in the compartment, chatting the time away. The talk got onto quidditch, then onto houses, then lessons, then blood statuses. Cheng admitted that he wasn't sure whether or not he was a muggle-born, because though his parents never performed magic, neither had been surprised to learn about the magical school he was going to. His father had merely remarked "Here we go again."  
The trolley-lady came, and each bought a supply of chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, Bertie-Bott's beans and liquorice wands. Rose gagged on an orange bean she claimed tasted of vomit, and Albus had a coughing fit when trying to quickly swallow a pale yellowish green one, which he privately suspected was bogey flavour.  
Albus and Rose changed into their robes as the train neared Hogsmeade and the sky began to darken. The lanterns were lit and they began to discuss the sorting ceremony.  
"I'll be picked near the end," Rose realised, "Because my surname begins with a 'W'."  
"No such luck," replied Cheng, glumly, "Mine begins with a 'D'; I'll be one of the first."  
The train rumbled to a halt, and a large figure appeared with a lantern. Albus recognised the grey mane and ridiculous height of Rubeus Hagrid, and, gesturing to the others, made his way over to him. Hagrid flashed them a whiskery grin.  
"All right, Albus?" he asked, cheerfully, "Seems only yesterday I was taking yer dad down here. Yer look so much alike. And yer, Rosie. Yer parents didn't get on to righ' a' the beginning. Took 'em a while to like each other. Who woulda' thought they'd end up married, eh?" he chortled to himself, as they climbed into a paddle boat.  
"Four in each boat!" called Hagrid, settling himself into one, his lantern aloft, after passing out the spare lanterns. Albus gripped his tightly, terrified of being left in the dark. Rose and Cheng each grabbed a paddle, and, as the boats begin to glide through the dark waters of the lake, Hogwarts castle loomed up ahead, and only the silvery splashes of the paddles intruded upon Albus' deep thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Albus fidgeted nervously, as Professor Longbottom welcomed them into the castle. According to his father, it was always the deputy head, meaning it would have been Professor McGonagall once upon a time, and then Flitwick before he died.  
"Hi Daddy!" said Layla, chirpily. He gave her a fond smile, before giving his short speech about the Houses, and waving them into the Great Hall.  
The damage from the war was still evident. Great cracks ran from ceiling to floor. Albus supposed that someone could probably mend them if they tried, but no one had the heart. They left it as a tribute to the losses they had suffered.  
His eyes scanned the large, memorial plaque, almost filling the wall space behind the teachers. He recognised certain names; Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, Colin Creevy, Fred Weasley, Severus Snape... He struggled to make out a small, handwritten message, carved below Nymphadora Lupin's name. With a shock, he recognised Teddy's handwriting. The words read "Don't call me Nymphadora".  
He felt tears spring to his eyes, at the thought of Teddy Lupin walking through this hall alone, seeing his parents' names immortalised in metal carvings. So absorbed was he in his grief, he didn't notice that all eyes were on him.  
"Abbott Emma!" Neville called, once the hall had fallen silent. She scurried up to the stool, jamming the hat onto her head. It hesitated only slightly before yelling "HUFFLEPUFF", making the table to his right cheer.  
She gratefully took a seat, as "Brendan William," was sorted into Ravenclaw. Next, "Creevy Colin" became a Gryffindor, giving the nearest table something to cheer about. Albus jumped at the name, before remembering that Colin's brother Denis still lived.  
He found his attention wandering while his classmates were sorted.  
"Dursley Cheng!" came Neville's voice, intruding on his thoughts. He frowned. He vaguely recognised the name.  
The Sorting Hat was silent as Cheng placed it on his head. And waited. And waited.  
Albus began to feel uneasy, as the Sorting hat remained silent. Who was Dursley? More importantly... who was Cheng? And why was the Sorting Hat still silent?  
"Slyther-GRYFFINDOR!" It cried, after approximately ten minutes of silence. With a sigh of relief, he joined the Gryffindor table. No one cheered.  
Albus couldn't concentrate as the others were sorted. He just wanted it to be over as quickly as possible. The others were gradually being sorted, and he knew that he was next. The line of students appeared almost endless, but only a few stood out in his mind.  
"Finnigan Lucy" became a Gryffindor, and "Longbottom Layla" became a Ravenclaw. "Malfoy Scorpius," was called, and, to their shock, was made a Gryffindor. Neville had to call for silence several times before the Sorting could continue.  
And, all too soon, it was Albus' turn.


	3. Chapter 3

Trembling, only Neville's encouraging smile gave him the strength to walk up to the stool. The hat was over-large, falling over his eyes, drowning him in darkness in its velvety folds.  
"Hmmm... let's see..." came the Hat's crooning voice, "Plenty of courage, if you just discover how to use it... A kind nature... A sharp mind... And a little... jealous? Jealous of a better older brother? Already... hoping to outdo him? Maybe Slytherin would be best... But no, your nature is kind... Hufflepuff... But what a sharp mind... Only Ravenclaw could hone it to the best of its ability... But with courage like this, you could only be a Gryffindor... So where to put you?"  
"I want to be in Gryffindor," whispered Albus, "I want to be where Dad and Mum and James were..."  
"Are you sure?" asked the hat, slowly, "You may regret it later..."  
"I want to!" replied Albus, more forcefully, remembering his father's words, "Dad said you take my choice into account."  
"I do indeed, and your father chose well... Very well then, better be GRYFFINDOR!"  
The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers, and Albus gratefully took a seat next to Cheng. The last few people were sorted, Rose being placed in Gryffindor the second the hat touched her hair. The last one to be sorted was "Zabini Kayn" who became a Slytherin, and the feast began.  
Rose, Cheng and Albus laughed and talked, and Albus had never been happier. Until he saw Scorpius, sitting alone.  
"It must be difficult, being in Gryffindor," said Albus, sympathetically. Scorpius glared at him.  
"You think I'm not brave enough?" he sneered. Albus shook his head.  
"That's not what I-"  
"Leave it, Al. He's not worth it." Said Rose, from the other side of the table. Scorpius turned to her, distastefully.  
"Red hair, hand-me-down robes... you must be a Weasley," he told her, scornfully. She grinned.  
"That's me,"  
Eventually, Cheng and Albus grew tired of Scorpius and Rose's bickering, and steered Rose towards the doors. A pang of guilt clutched at Albus' heart, as he saw Layla sitting alone. He hadn't taken her into account when picking his house. He could have picked Ravenclaw, and ensured she was not alone. But he had been selfish.  
"Are you okay?" he asked her, as they passed. She nodded solemnly.  
"Mother always said that the loneliest people are the kindest." She told him, with a sad smile. And she turned back to her food.

Albus and Cheng entered the boys' dormitory they were to share with Scorpius, Colin and a round-faced boy named Kevin. They chose beds next to one another, and changed into their pyjamas, slipping in beneath the soft sheets.  
"Are you chinese on your mother's side or your father's side?" asked Albus, sleepily.  
"My mother," replied Cheng, "My father is British."  
"What are their names?" he asked. But the soft snores indicated that Cheng was already asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Eating his bacon, Albus checked his timetable. The first lesson was Charms with the Hufflepuffs, so he gulped down his breakfast and followed Rose and Cheng to the classroom.  
"We will start with a simple levitation charm, by the name of Windgardium Leviosa," said the young, dark-haired charms teacher, "I would like you to all please take out your wands, and practise this wand movement. Swish, and a small flick. Like so." she demonstrated a simple swish and flick motion. "Now you try."

Next, they had Herbology with Neville and the Slytherins. As they smelled the various leaves he had provided, jotting down which ones they suspected where poisonous, he made his way over to the trio.  
"I'm a little worried about Layla," he admitted, "She was alone earlier in Herbology. Keep an eye on her, will you?"  
"Of course we will," Rose assured him, carefully placing the leaf back on the table.  
"Thanks," he said, gratefully, reading through her notes. "You're just like your mother, Rosie. Full marks. She used to help me out in potions, she did. Saved my skin a couple of times."  
"Really?" asked Rose, interested. He nodded.  
"I had a bit of a crush on your mother in our first few years. Asked her to the Yule Ball and all."  
"What did she say?"  
"She was going with Viktor Krum." Neville told her, ruefully. Rose gaped at him, thinking of the posters pasted to her bedroom wall of the famous quidditch player.  
"There's a lot my mother didn't tell me," she murmured, as Neville walked away.

Flying. Finally something he was good at, after Harry's careful years of tutoring.  
"Up!" chorused the students, on Angelina Johnston's command. Albus' broom sprang to his hand, but very few of the others' did.  
"Now, grip it like this." Instructed Angelina, walking around an correcting their grips. Harry's got an approving nod.  
"You're Harry's kid, right?" she asked, "And Ginny's?"  
"Yes," he replied, self-consciously.

Putting them into groups of five, Angelina made the first-years fly once around the pitch. Albus managed this with ease, lightly touching the broom to turn. Rose unfortunately seemed to have inherited her mother's lack of talent for flying, and flew off in the wrong direction. Cheng managed to keep his broom fairly straight, but lacked Albus' ease. Kevin could barely get his to leave the ground. But who was the last person in their group?  
Looking up, he saw Scorpius flying with the ease one can only gain through experience. To his disappointment, Angelina and the rest of his classmates were watching Scorpius with awe. And no one, he thought, bitterly, had even noticed his flawless circuit.


End file.
